Just a Weird Girl
by Kizuna Hikari
Summary: Takukega Harumi, a new worker of the weird people in the restaurant. "She's beautiful, quiet and unsociable. Considering these traits shouldn't she be more passive- Wait! What's that crash! Harumi! Wait, stop her before she murders- SOUMA! Stay with us!" A sigh was heard. "I love you but I won't tolerate any threats made to my family." A laugh was heard. "I love you too dear."
1. A New Employee

**WORKING Fanfiction**

by Kizuna Hikari

**Prologue - A New Employee**

"So...what are we all here for?" Takanashi said as he adjusted his glasses. Souma smiled.

"I heard from manager that we're going to get a new employee." Souma said while his eyes clouded in happiness. Satou thought, 'Here we go again.'

"But why are we all here?" Taneshima asked, confused by the situation.

"Kyoko-san said that we're also having a meeting. It's about the restaurant." Yachiyo said with her arms crossed and her right hand holding her chin. Satou just watched just as Souma watched him too. Souma had his smug smile again.

"I-is that so?" Inami said, trembling a bit by the precense of the boys. Matsumoto furrowed her eye brows and sighed.

"Maybe it's a girl!" Yamada said, enthusiastic. Taneshima nodded, also enthusiastic.

"I hope." Takanashi said. He was afraid that it was gonna be a normal boy. Inami might kill him. He shivered.

"Come on Takanashi-kun. Be a little more joyful! If it's a boy, you're not the only one going to be punched." Souma said with a sparkling dark aura. Inami flinched while Takanashi just looked at him with a sweat on his temple and a poker face.

"Sadist." Satou and Souta said, chorused.

As if on cue, Kyoko entered the room with a girl. Everyone just stared at the girl. The girl was suprisingly beautiful. She had emerald eyes which sparkled like diamonds. If...that wasn't exaggerating. She also has brownish blonde straight waist length hair, most likely because her hair was tied in a ponytail. Her bangs were normally covering her forehead but they bounce as she walk. Most of all...she had a poker face on. All of them in the room sweatdropped, excluding Kyoko, Souma and the new employee.

"Are all of you here?" Kyoko asked, bored and tired.

"Yes." Matsumoto answered. Kyoko nodded and glanced at the girl, signaling her to start. The girl nodded.

"I'm Takukega Harumi. 19 years old, still in college. Course, Literature. Sideline, cooking and sketching. I hope to get along with all of you here." Harumi bowed as she finished her introduction. Kyoko turned her head towards Satou.

"Satou, she'll be part of your cooking crew. Guide her well with the things she needs to know." Kyoko said as she told Satou. Yachiyo squealed silently, admiring Kyoko, yet again. Satou scoffed mentally. Souma was still smiling happily. Souma thought, 'a girl huh?'

"Apart from intruducing her to you guys, I need to tell you that Otoo-san will come back tomorrow. Also, I need to warn you that your bills in this restaurant are going to get low if you don't work properly." Kyoko glanced at Yamada. But she hurriedly hid behind Inami.

"It's been like that for a few months so I just warned you. Also..." Kyoko paused for a moment. Everyone waited.

"Also..?" Inami quietly murmured. Kyoko slammed her hand on the table. Everyone flinched, except for Yachiyo who admired the cool action of hers, and Satou who grunted in anger seeing Yachiyo all happy over Kyoko.

"We're going to have an event." Kyoko said as if this plan was amazing. Taneshima tilted her head.

"What event..?" Taneshima asked innocently, which greatly affected Takanashi.

"Sempai is so cute~!" Takanashi mumbled as the others around him watch his weird fetish. The new employee flinched, seeing Takanashi admire the girl. Souma grinned.

"It's..." Kyoko murmured.

"...?" Everyone waited for a response. Kyoko sighed and glanced at Harumi. Harumi nodded for some reason.

"She'll explain it to you." Kyoko said, holding her waist. She turned to Yachiyo.

"Yachiyo, parfait." Kyoko said. Yachiyo stood up from the chair.

"Yes, Kyoko-san~!" She happily responsed while skipping towards Kyoko. Kyoko just turned around and walked away from all of them. Satou just had his face of anger. Souma was happily observing.

"...So what's the event about?" Taneshima asked Harumi. All faces turned to Harumi.

"Well...you guys do know that it's already spring. My plan is for all of the employees to wear yukatas while serving." When they first heard her voice, it was soothing but the moment she said yukata, Inami frowned.

"E-eh? Yukata? Why should we wear yukatas?" Inami said. Harumi turned her head to look at her.

"It's to represent the new year and tradition of japan." Harumi said.

"Eh? Really?! I'll be able to wear a yukata?!" Yamada exclaimed, excited.

"A yukata..." Taneshima's eyes started to sparkle, as well as Yamada and Inami. Takanashi frowned.

"Where are we able to get yukatas?" Takanashi threw a silent bomb to the girls who were excited. All of them faced Harumi, who was unfazed by their stares.

"Do you have or know where to rent yukatas?" Souma asked. The three girls nodded. Souta and Satou waited for a response.

"I have a friend of mine who owns tons of yukata. Their family are dancers of traditional culture and has a strict manner. _Although they have another character though._" The last sentence she said were anaudible but Souma could read what she was saying. Interesting, he thought.

"Eeeh. They're rich then?" Takanashi asked the obvious. Harumi just nodded.

"Very rich. _Enough to make me dance forcibly too_." She said, just mumbling her last line. Souma happily watched her. He thought, 'Is that enough for a blackmail?' Takanashi stared at Souma.

"Souma-san..." Takanashi mumbled, helpless by Souma's actions. He sighed.

"When are we starting that event?" Satou asked with his arms crossed.

"January 26-30. It's semester break anyway, so more chances of getting customers is not a problem. _Obviously_." She mumbled the last word again.

"What's with you mumbling your every last word?" Takanashi said as beads of sweat on his temple slid down his cheek. Harumi turned her head to him.

"A lot of people say that. It's just my... hobby...I guess." Harumi said, doubting her choice of words. She just shrugged later. They all just stared her in silence.

"..." Souma couldn't stop smiling because of the awkwardness. All of them inside the break room had beads of sweat on their temple, except for Harumi and Satou. Souma talked.

"So... let me introduce myself. My name is Souma Hiroomi. I'm 20 years old. Nice to meet you." Souma approached the girl and shaked hands with her. She nodded.

"Nice to meet you too, Souma-san." She greeted back. They pulled their hands apart after greeting. Harumi bowed.

"Nice to meet you Kizuna-san! My name is Taneshima Popura! I'm 17 years old! Let's work sometime together ok?" Taneshima said as she bowed down. Harumi bowed down in return.

"Ok." Harumi smiled but immediately returned her poker face. Taneshima blinked. Was that my imagination? Popura thought.

"I'm Inami Mahiru. 17 years old. Nice to meet you." Inami hastily bowed down but smiled. Harumi just bowed down in return. After all of them introduced themselves, the others got back to work except for Harumi. Yachiyo entered the break room later on.

"Hello Takukega-san! I'm Todoroki Yachiyo. 20 years old. Nice to meet you." Yachiyo said and then bowed down.

"Nice to meet you too, Todoroki-san." She approached Yachiyo and shook hands with her.

"Harumi-chan. Can I call you like that?" Yachiyo said. Harumi nodded. They exited the break room together while walking side by side.

"Umm...Harumi-chan. Can you call me Yachiyo?" Yachiyo said while smiling a little bit worriedly at Harumi. Harumi tilted her head as asking what's wrong.

"It's just that...my name sounds so manly. Is it ok for you?" Yachiyo said again. Harumi blinked, then stopped walking. She turned to face Yachiyo.

"Yes, Yachiyo-san." After saying her name, Yachiyo smiled then nodded. They stopped walking after they reached the cooking room.

"This is where you will work Harumi-chan." Harumi nodded, yet again. Yachiyo turned to look at Harumi.

"Harumi-chan, why are you always nodding? Why don't you talk?" Yachiyo asked curiously. Harumi turned to look at her too.

"Talking is tiring. So I just nod at yes or no questions." Harumi said nonchantly. Yachiyo sweatdropped.

"Ahh. I see." Yachiyo accepted her excuse. Yachiyo later told her to change her room in the girls changing room. Yachiyo also told her that she can find any cooking uniform in that room and just find what fits her right.

After changing her uniform, she went to the cooking room. She saw Satou cooking while she saw Souma chopping something. Souma noticed her so he greeted her.

"Ah. Takukega-san. Come in." Souma gestured her to come in. She nodded and went in the room.

"Satou-kun, she's here!" Souma told Satou. Satou turned to look. After he saw her, he turned of the stove then walked towards her.

"Are you ready for your first day?" Satou asked. Harumi nodded.

"Yes." She answered.

**END OF PROLOGUE**

**Author's note:** So…what do you think about my story? I'm not certain that I can continue this story but I'm going to update bit by bit. Also…I'm just a new member in fan fiction net so I hope that you won't judge my work harshly. I will gladly accept reviews, critics and flames. Sorry if prologue is short too. I'll increase the words in the first chappie so please be patient. (-v-)d

Flames are a bit harsh but that's fine. They just show what's wrong in my work. Is it ok if I pair my OC and Souma? It was just an idea that popped in my head so…I'm not really sure. But…naaah. I already decided and it's already on the summary so I guess I'll continue on it.

Also, I'm sorry for the people who pair Yamada and Souma. I would like to pair them but...think of it. A 20 year old dude and a girl with an unidentified age (which is probably 14 or so) getting together. I'd happily say brotherly and sisterly relationship.

Reviews please! I'd like to know what you think of my story. Flames are gladly accepted!

EDITED: April 12, 2015  
ORIGINALLY RELEASED: April 10, 2015


	2. She can talk after all

**Chapter I – She Can Normally Talk After All.  
**

|| _January 10, 20**_ || _Saturday_ || _11:13 AM_

"Hey, can you get the cream for me? It's in that fridge." Satou pointed out where it was hidden. Harumi nodded in return.

Harumi was getting used to the work the past two weeks. Her shift also starts every evening. She only attends a full shift whenever it was Saturday or Sunday. But…she also noticed all of her new co-workers weird personalities. She can't say she hates because it was pretty… _amusing_. She tries to hide though, every time she faces Souma. She has somehow the hunch that he's a pretty _hardcore sadist_.

She also found out that Yamada was living in the attic. Inami and Taneshima explained the situation Yamada has. Harumi was certainly not convinced. Like Takanashi, she saw through Yamada's lies. She didn't say anything about it though. She also met Otoo the day after she was introduced to the crew. She saw a pretty interesting scene too; Yachiyo almost cutting Otoo in half. Saying that she was shocked is not a surprise. _Every_ person would be shocked if they saw that too.

Harumi walked away from them as she gets the cream in the fridge. Souma watched her walk away from a distance, so as Satou.

"She's pretty interesting, don't you think?" Souma said. Satou replied while he scooped the ice cream and put it in the glass.

"I don't know what you're planning to do but if something bad is going to happen, don't involve me with it. I don't want to get involved in your sadistic fantasies." Satou _casually insulted_ him. Souma's grin remained but furrowed his eyebrows.

"That's really mean, Satou-kun." Souma said while returning back to his work. Harumi later arrived, giving Satou the packet of cream. Satou said thanks. Harumi nodded, returned to her station and began preparing the ingredients beside Souma. Souma wasn't surprised, the pass few days, Harumi was working hard in her work and rarely talks. It's in her character I guess.

"Why are you working on the parfait instead of Yachiyo-san?" The moment she said that, Satou's concentration disrupted, causing the packet with cream in his hand squirt out its content. Souma held back a laugh and at the same time, he's surprised that Harumi asked a question for the first time.

She really doesn't reply to what you say and she merely nods to what you teach to her. I guess people can be curious. But why did she have to mention Yachiyo? Souma wondered.

"I always see her working on parfaits and give it to the manager. Is it normal for her to give the manager countless parfaits for free?" Harumi continued on asking while continuing her work. Satou's face darkened and Souma had to cover his mouth to hide his laugh.

"It's something you do not need to know." Satou replied while cleaning his mess, realizing his mistake. That moment, Taneshima entered the room. Souma watched, grinning happily while Harumi continued on her work, as usual.

"Satou-kun, can you reach me the glasses on the cupboard?" Taneshima asked. Satou faced her with his face darkened. Taneshima flinched and shivered.

"D-did I do s-something?" Taneshima asked worriedly. Satou's face lightened. Taneshima sighed, almost inaudibly.

"You did not do anything wrong." Satou said patting her hair. Taneshima let him do it for a couple of seconds…but later, he ruffled her hair roughly.

"S-satou-kun!" Taneshima whined while trying to stop him from doing weird things to her hair. Harumi turned to see what's happening. She saw Satou turn Taneshima's hair into a coconut tree. Her eyes widened a bit, a very rare expression on hers. This was the first time she saw him doing things like that to Taneshima. Maybe she doesn't really know what's going on because her full shifts are only on Saturday and Sunday, unlike school days where she has to work at evening.

"…" Harumi watched quietly as the two fought in front of her. Not literally fighting, just Taneshima, trying to pound him and Satou pushing her face away from him.

"Waaaah~!" Taneshima whined as she still tried to punch him. Satou merely watched her while Souma grinned happily at watching them. He's definitely a sadist. Harumi thought with a sweat on her temple.

"…What's going on here?" Takanashi asked, as he peeked in the cooking room. Taneshima finally stopped and turned around to see Takanashi. She ran and hugged him.

"Katanashi-kun, Satou-kun is bullying me again!" She shouted as she sobbed on Takanashi's uniform. Takanashi was baffled to see Taneshima's hair like that. Then again, Satou does this to her almost every day so he wasn't that surprised.

"Satou-san…" He said while holding onto Taneshima's shoulder. He turned to look at Souma.

"Souma-san, what happened here? What caused him to tease sempai?" He asked as he patted Taneshima's back.

"Well…a certain someone reminded him of his nightmares." He said glancing at Harumi. Harumi furrowed her eyebrows.

"What did I do?" She asked as if she didn't do anything wrong. Taneshima and Takanashi turned in her direction.

"You talked!" They both shouted with fingers pointed at her. Harumi sweat dropped. Souma still had his smile. Satou still stood there motionless, also watching what's happening.

"So? What's the big deal? It's not like I'm mute. _Tch._" She said, pointing out the obvious.

"You almost didn't talk in the whole two weeks! You would only nod! How can we talk to you?! Let alone hold a full conversation?! The day you only talked was the day manager introduced us to you, so how can we not be surprised?!" Takanashi explained while his glasses glinted with light. Taneshima nodded, agreeing with him.

"You shouldn't be surprised. She barely talks to both of us so I think it's not really a surprise." Souma calmed Takanashi and Taneshima. Takanashi sweat dropped.

"_Barely…?_" Takanashi murmured. Taneshima stopped sobbing and later said she's going back to work. She's going to work with her hair like that? Harumi thought with a bead of sweat trickling down her temple.

"Taneshima-san." Harumi called Popura. She turned around.

"What is it, Takukega-san?" Taneshima asked. Harumi approached her.

"I'll fix your hair for you. Come." Harumi said, without waiting for her reply as she dragged her away from the cooking room. Souma and Satou watched them as they disappeared from their sight.

"That was fun-" Before Souma could continue his sentence, Satou's death grip on him stopped him. Takanashi watched as Satou beat the hell out of Souma, while Souma begged for his life. He sighed. Why is he not surprised? He thought sarcastically before leaving the two alone.

Harumi encountered Yachiyo who is carrying her katana, as usual. Harumi was really shocked the first day but she really didn't show it. She remained silent about Yachiyo's katana.

"Harumi-chan, Popura-chan, where are you two going? Aren't you going to work? Also…" Yachiyo paused, looking at Popura's coconut hair.

"What happened to your hair Popura-chan?" Yachiyo asked with beads of sweat on her temple.

"Satou-kun bullied me again." Taneshima replied, remembering what happened in the cooking room.

"What happened this time?" Yachiyo asked. She knows that Satou wouldn't do such a thing if there wasn't a reason. She just doesn't know what it is, of course. She's _literally_ dense about Satou's feelings for her.

"I don't know Yachiyo-san." She said with her tears streaming down her face.

"Ah! Takukega-san said she would fix it for me though. Is it fine if we stay in the break room for a while to fix my hair?" Taneshima asked, without realizing she already stopped crying. _Weird_. Yachiyo pondered her request for a minute.

"I guess so…just get back soon, ok?" Yachiyo agreed but also reminded them. Harumi nodded, quietly saying thank you.

"Thank you, Yachiyo-san!" Taneshima happily thanked Yachiyo. Yachiyo nodded in return and continued working.

"Let's go, Takukega-san!" Taneshima grabbed Harumi's hand and entered the break room. Taneshima sat down while Harumi looked for a brush in her bag in the girls changing room. Harumi came back seconds later, seeing Taneshima wait for her.

"Sorry to make you wait." Harumi said while positioning herself behind Taneshima. Taneshima smiled.

"It's fine! I should be thankful for you doing this to me. Thanks, Takukega-san." She thanked her.

"You are welcome." Harumi said, starting to untangle the weird strands of her hair which is probably molded by Satou's art.

Minutes later, Taneshima started talking.

"You're gentle when doing this to my hair. I kind of expected you _yanking _my hair. Hehehe. Sorry." Taneshima giggled. Harumi sweat dropped, starting to untangle the coconut tree.

"Why would you think I'd _yank_ your hair?" Harumi asked, kind of offended, I suppose. Taneshima replied almost immediately.

"Well, my first impression on you in the first day was kind of cute. But…you never talk. Also, whenever we talk or ask questions, the way you would look at us feels like you're glaring at us." Taneshima honestly told her. Harumi stopped a second.

"Hmmm…" Harumi hummed, taking in what she said and continued fixing her hair.

"Are…you angry?" Taneshima asked, a bit worried of what she feels at the moment.

"No. I'm happy that you're honest and told me what you really think of me." Harumi replied. Taneshima's face lightened and she turned her head around gently, curious to see Harumi's face. Once she saw her expressionless face, a bead of sweat formed on her cheek.

"You don't look like you're happy at all." Taneshima murmured. However, Harumi heard this and replied.

"Most people say I'm not sincere but I really am happy that you are honest with me." Harumi replied, this time, smiling a bit. It's not the sort of smile you'd see on Taneshima that is really wide and happy-happy. Taneshima was surprised. It was the sort of smile that is rarely seen on a person with the same personality like Harumi. But Taneshima knew that this time, Harumi was really sincere.

"You have a pretty smile, Takukega-san." Taneshima said, mesmerized by her smiling face. When Harumi heard what Taneshima said, a small tint of blush appeared on her cheek, another rare expression.

"J-just turn around. I can't properly fix your hair." Harumi replied, gently turning her head around. Taneshima thought for a minute.

"You honestly talk a lot Takukega-san. Why don't you talk like that at work too?" Taneshima suggested. Harumi flinched.

"W-well…it's tiring and I'm the type of person who does not like to talk during work." Harumi hastily explained. Taneshima accepted her excuse, not really thinking about it and actually believing her.

"Hmm… I see!" Taneshima said.

A couple of minutes later…

"Done." Harumi said as if she finished a very spectacular art. Her sparkling eyes were saying it for her. Taneshima touched her hair.

"I can't see. Did you design my hair Takukega-san? It kind of feels like…" Taneshima said as she gently patted her hair behind.

"Braids…?" Taneshima murmured. Taneshima was about to ask why she designed it that way but was interrupted by Yamada, who just came down from the attic with a ladder. Yamada silently stared at Taneshima. She then stared at Harumi, then back at Taneshima.

"W-what's wrong Aoi-chan?" Taneshima asked. Yamada suddenly beamed with sparkles and a radiating light around her.

"T-Taneshima-san, you look really cute! Who designed your hair for you?! Is it Takukega-san?!" Yamada asked as if she wants it done for her hair too. Taneshima nodded. Yamada then looked admiringly at Harumi.

"T-Takukega-san, did you really do this to her hair?!" Yamada asked as if she didn't believe Taneshima at all.

"Y-yeah." Unlike others, Yamada was too awestruck to be surprised by Harumi talking. Yamada suddenly bowed in front of her.

"C-can you do it to my hair too?!" She requested…or rather demanded, the way she shouted said that for her. Harumi's temple formed a bead of sweat. She nodded. Yamada smiled happily.

"T-thank you!" Yamada thanked Harumi. Yamada positioned herself on the chair, waiting for Harumi to design her hair. Harumi, with no other choice, positioned herself behind Yamada. Taneshima then positioned her two braids in front of her.

"Am I really that cute..?" Taneshima asked no one in particular. Harumi started sectioning Yamada's hair separately.

After a few minutes, Yamada's hair was already done faster than Taneshima. Basically Taneshima has a longer hair (also, her hair was molded by Satou a while ago) and Yamada's hair was shorter.

"I'll get the full sized mirror!" Yamada exclaimed running away from them and returning faster than flash with the full length sized mirror.

"Here it is!" Yamada exclaimed again. She positioned herself in front of the mirror, admiring herself.

"Taneshima-san, look at yourself too!" She pushed Taneshima towards the front of the mirror. Taneshima was silent for a while, and then blushed.

"W-well, I won't say I'm cute but I like it!" Taneshima exclaimed, also happy at how she looked like. Both girls were too excited looking at the mirror, not noticing Harumi get something in the girls changing room.

"Taneshima-san, Yamada-san, face me for a bit." Harumi said. Taneshima was the first to come towards Harumi and positioned herself in front of her. Taneshima tilted her head, asking if there was something wrong. Harumi took a shiny and cute hair clip, possibly even more expensive than Inami's, from her pocket. She arranged Taneshima's bangs side wards and put the clip on her hair on the side without the bangs.

"There." Harumi said. Yamada looked at Taneshima then smiled brightly. She approached Harumi while Taneshima admired herself in the mirror again.

"What about mine? Do I also have one?" She asked excitedly. Harumi took the flower and butterfly designed hair band on the table and put it on Yamada's hair. After that Yamada briefly said thanks and looked at herself in the mirror. Harumi sighed in relief, glad that she was done and can return back to work. After Taneshima and Yamada looked at the mirror they thanked Harumi.

"Thank you very much, Takukega-san!" Both of them said, chorused. Harumi nodded in return.

"I need to get back at work. See you." Harumi said and was gone after walking away from them. A few seconds later, Yamada perked up.

"She talked!" Yamada exclaimed. Taneshima sweat dropped.

"You just noticed…?" She hesitantly murmured. Taneshima turned to look at the mirror again.

"I'll go back to work now Aoi-chan. See you later!" Taneshima skipped away from her and returned to work.

"See you later!" Yamada's late reply. She sighed.

"I guess I'll work…" Yamada unsurely murmured and later shrugged her shoulders. She also went to work.

|| _3:03 PM _||

"Sempai!" Takanashi exclaimed as she saw Taneshima taking an order from the counter that Harumi gave her. Harumi turned her head, hearing Takanashi's voice call out to Taneshima.

"Oh, Katanashi-kun! Hello!" She greeted while holding the tray. Takanashi stared at her for a second.

"So cute~!" Takanashi said and patted Taneshima's hair. Taneshima smiled.

"Isn't it? Takukega-san designed it for me!" Taneshima happily said, not bothered by Takanashi who is patting her hair. The second Takanashi heard Harumi's name, he stopped patting Taneshima's hair and paused midair.

"Eh?! Really?!" Takanashi exclaimed, not believing what Taneshima said. Taneshima nodded joyfully.

"I need to serve this first. See you, Katanashi-kun!" Taneshima said as she left. Takanashi faced Harumi who is blankly staring off at Taneshima who left seconds ago.

"Sempai was so cute~!" Rather than complimenting Harumi's work, he complimented Taneshima instead. Harumi flinched and turned to look at Takanashi. She crossed her arms.

"I designed Yamada's hair too. Both of them let Satou-san and Souma-san see it a while ago. Yamada's still here though." Harumi said, turning to look at Yamada who is choking Souma from her hug. Takanashi turned to look too and sweat dropped.

"What did Satou-san say?" Takanashi asked, curious to what Satou told Taneshima.

"Well…I guess you can say he _complimented_ her." Harumi murmured, unsure of the words she chose.

"_Satou-kun, Souma-san! Look at our hair!" Yamada exclaimed and entered the cooking room with Taneshima. Satou turned to look at Yamada and then Taneshima. Souma approached the two while Satou still observed both of the girls. Harumi paid no attention to them and continued working. _

"_Eh~! That's so cute! Did Takukega-san do that to your hair?" Souma asked while smiling. Taneshima nodded happily. Yamada smiled proudly._

"_We're so cute aren't we?" Yamada declared. Taneshima blushed._

"_Well…not really-" Taneshima was about to say something but was cut off by Satou._

"_The hair is the only one cute. Also, what made it even cuter are the hair ornaments." Satou bluntly said. Taneshima and Yamada reacted. Souma's grin still remained._

"_What?!" They both said at the same time, shocked. _

"_Especially you Taneshima, if you wear those braids and have a cute hair pin, many more people are going to think that you're an elementary student." Satou lied. Taneshima's jaw hang open as the dark aura enveloped her. She weakly turned to Harumi._

"_I-Is that true, Takukega-san..?" Taneshima asked weakly. Harumi stopped for a second and turned to look at Taneshima. She shrugged and continued back on work. All of them in the room remained still, especially Taneshima, whose soul came out from her mouth. Harumi sighed and dropped her knife at the table._

"_Taneshima-san, that is exactly why you can't grow." The second Taneshima heard the word grow, she perked up._

"_Eh?! Why?!" She asked. Souma and Satou watched, as well as Yamada. Yamada and Souma had grins plastered on their faces while Satou's face remained still. _

"_That's because you overthink things and that causes your body stress. Didn't you know that stress can lower your motivation and can make you smaller?" Harumi lied. Taneshima smiled and nodded, believing her words. _

"_I-I see!" Taneshima happily replied. Harumi nodded and came back to work._

"_So don't get all sad and disbelieving. It will only stress you." Harumi said. Taneshima nodded again and smiled._

"_T-thank you, Takukega-san!" Taneshima thanked her then bowed. She later left the cooking room, leaving the four in the room._

"_That was impressive, Takukega-san." Yamada said, approaching Harumi. Harumi didn't respond. _

"…" _Even so, Yamada waited. Harumi sighed yet again._

"_Why don't you go to Souma-san? He said that after work, he will tell you where he lives." Harumi lied. Yamada's eyes sparkled. Souma's jaw hang open. Yamada immediately got in front of Souma, yanked down his collar and hugged him._

"_You're really becoming my brother! Thank you, Souma-san~!" Yamada happily hugged him as Souma struggled to get out of Yamada's grip. What the hell?! Souma thought. Satou looked at Yamada and Souma for one last time and then came back to work._

"…" Takanashi remained quiet as he finished listening to Harumi. Beads of sweat formed on Takanashi's temple as he stared at Harumi.

"Why do I have the feeling that you're _somehow _related to Satou-san?" Takanashi murmured. Harumi turned her head.

"Hmm?" Harumi tilted her head. Takanashi smiled awkwardly with furrowed eyebrows.

"Nothing…" Takanashi said. Takanashi put the tray where they take orders.

"Order up! Takukega-san, please get back to work." Satou said as he placed the orders on top of Takanashi's tray. Harumi only nodded and got back to work. Takanashi took the tray and looked at Souma and Yamada one last time. He sweat dropped.

"Be right back." He said and gone off to work.

**Author's Note:**

**So yeah…Inami did not show up in this chapter but she'll be in the 3****rd**** chapter. Sorry if I didn't add some fluff. It's just not my forte. I know this story's genre is romance but I'm having a hard time displaying it, but I think it is better not to rush the story and just focus on the humor and development of their friendship. I mean, you can't have romance so abrupt in a story where they just first met, don't you think so? Yah, I know I'm asking the obvious but duh, who cares.**

**So yup, thanks for your review in the last chapter Kurome. You're absolutely right! I didn't notice it until you told me. Hahaha. Thanks for your review though, I thought no one would ever review my story so…thanks! I'll try to proofread it more often. Still waiting for reviews, critics and (probably) flames. See you in the next chapter!**


	3. Challenge Accepted

**Chapter II – Challenge Accepted.  
**

|| _January_ _11, 20**_ || _Sunday_ || _8:03 AM_

Today was raining and the cold weather only makes you want to sleep more. But…

*riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnngggg*

A noisy alarm clock can't make you stop from going to work. Harumi reached out to her desk with her left arm and tried to turn off her alarm. Once she felt the cold button, she pressed it, silencing the alarm. She took the clock and looked at it. 8:03 AM. Harumi sighed and put the alarm back on the desk. She removed her covers and got up from her bed, stumbling as she did so. She opened the curtains and looked outside.

The clouds aren't as pretty when raining. Thunder jolted from the skies. Harumi yawned with her hand on her mouth. _I'm still sleepy but I guess I'll go to work._ Harumi thought. Harumi took her towel and robe on the racket and gone outside her room. She yawned several times and finally got to the bathroom.

|| _8:58 AM_ || 

"Hmmm…" Harumi hummed as she cooked breakfast after taking a bath and changing her clothes.

"Oh…you're already awake Harumi-neesan!" A voice echoed around the kitchen. Harumi turned to look at her little brother. Her brother was still in his pajamas, probably just woke up I guess. Harumi turned back after confirming her little brother's presence. Her brother just widely smiled and walked up behind her.

"What are you cooking? Is it my favorite?" Her brother, Hiroki, asked excitedly. Harumi smiled. Hiroki beamed.

"Yay!" Hiroki shouted in happiness while running around the kitchen happily. Even for her brother Hiroki who was 16 years old, he was a cheerful guy with an innocent aura, much like Taneshima but he wasn't like the other guys she encountered. He was referred as "The Shining Prince" in his school.

"Just go take a bath and change. This will be done in a minute," Harumi said as she flipped the pancake. Hiroki nodded happily as he ran to his room and got out to take a bath in the bathroom. Minutes later, Harumi finished cooking the pancakes with her brother waiting on the dining table. Harumi served the pancakes, equally separating the pancakes for the two of them.

"How's work going Harumi-neesan?" Hiroki asked while slicing his pancake. Harumi thought for a while.

"Pretty fine…I guess." Harumi replied, unsure how to answer her question. Hiroki hummed while munching the pancake she ate.

"Do you even talk there? I mean…a lot?" Hiroki asked again. Harumi took her glass of milk and drank it before answering.

"Not really. It depends on the situation," Harumi replied, resuming on eating the pancake. Hiroki stared at his sister for a moment and blinked twice.

"Hmm…I see. I wonder…does someone get along with you?" Hiroki asked again. Harumi continued eating while also thinking of what her brother asked. _I can't say I'm close to one of my co-workers there but…_

"I think there is one. Younger than me but she's the most social and cheerful worker there," Harumi replied. Hiroki blinked for a second, stared at his sister and smiled.

"I see. It's a girl right? You never get along with boys, _except for me_," Hiroki happily smiled, glad that his sister was able to get along with her co-workers. Harumi nodded. Hiroki laughed coolly at his sister's silent response.

"I guess…" Harumi responded.

|| _9:17 AM_ ||

Harumi got to work after preparing at home and saying goodbye to her younger brother. She entered the backdoor and was greeted by Taneshima.

"Good morning, Takukega-san! I hope we work well today!" Taneshima beamed at Harumi. Harumi nodded at her, also saying a silent greeting. Taneshima smiled, ran and waved goodbye to Harumi.

"Good morning, Takukega-san. I see you have a cheerful little brother. The Sunshine Prince huh?" Souma suddenly greeted her. Harumi flinched and turned around, just to see Souma smiling evilly. Harumi cringed. She shot a questioning glare saying _how-the-hell-do-you-know-him?!_ Souma kept his cool, but a bit bothered by Harumi's deadly aura.

"Hehe. Sources," Souma smiled playfully.

*BOOGSH*

The impact on the wall made it broke but a smaller damage applied than Inami. Harumi's punch was near Souma's face and he avoided it in the nick of time. Souma shivered under her unnerving gaze.

"Aha..ha. It was just joke Takukega-san. I was kidding!" Souma answered, panicking. Harumi made a 'tch' sound.

"**Just this once and never meddle with my life again, especially my family. You got that?**" With Harumi's stern demanding voice, Souma hurriedly nodded. Harumi backed away from him a bit. She sighed and faced him. Souma flinched.

Harumi bowed, saying she was sorry for acting recklessly. Souma was frozen for a moment heaved a heavy sigh. Harumi turned away from him and got into the girl's dressing room. Taneshima, Takanashi, Yamada and the others ran towards where the sound of Harumi's punch came from. They looked to see what was going on, and seeing Souma's pale face, Takanashi thought, _He did something again_. Takanashi sighed.

"W-what happened Souma-san?" Taneshima asked as her head turned to the damage applied to the wall and looking back at Souma's terrified state. Yamada stood behind Taneshima, staring at the damage on the wall.

"Inami's not here right now, her shift will start soon but why…or rather _who_ did this to the wall?" Takanashi asked suspiciously, worried that there was someone who could break a wall like Inami. Souma gulped as he answered.

"Takukega-san," As Souma said the name, Takanashi, Taneshima and Yamada froze in their spots. Five seconds later, Taneshima perked up.

"I-impossible, Harumi would never have strength like that," Taneshima brushed off his confession as she waved her hand with a bead of sweat on her temple. Takanashi also nodded in agreement with glinted glasses but Yamada didn't have the same reaction. Instead of brushing it off as a joke, she rejoiced and pumped her fist in the air.

"That's cool!" Yamada cheered. A vein popped on Takanashi's temple and thought, _How can she think that's cool?! It's dangerous to have another Inami-like punch in this place, also adding the fact that our manager is even a former gangster and has a lot of underlings too!_

"Cool?!" Taneshima exclaimed, also shocked with Yamada's reaction. Souma staggered as he stood up and he was helped by Takanashi to get up. His pale and terrified face didn't fade away. He laughed half-heartedly.

"Takukega-san has some strength in her, I respect that," Souma said hoarsely, "though, I would prefer if she was a little gentle with us." Takanashi remained still with his glasses glinted.

"Um…is something wrong?" A sudden but very familiar voice asked. Takanashi turned to see her and he was right, it was Inami. Taneshima beamed for a second, seeing Inami.

"G-good Morning Inami-san…ummm well, something just happened. Haha…" Taneshima trailed off as Inami looked to where Taneshima was looking at. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell agape. _W-what?_

"W-what happened here?" Inami asked, confused and worried that someone had enough strength like her to damage a wall. Yamada grinned and held her chin.

"Inami-san, it's time for you to meet your long lost soul twin, who is…" _Long lost soul twin? That kinda sounds made-up._ Inami thought.

"Takukega-san!" Yamada finished as she pointed her finger at Harumi who just finished changing into her uniform. Harumi shot a questioning look to them. _What?_ She seemed to ask them. Souma perked up, _Hoho, I see. _Souma smiled.

"Eh?! Yamada-san, you're kind of going overboard, there's no proof." Inami said as she shook her hands in front of Yamada. Yamada only smiled smugly and was about to say something but was interrupted.

"I think Satou-kun is her long lost soul twin Yamada-san," The once terrified and weak Souma was now back as the black sparkles flew all around him. _The real Souma is back!_ Takanashi thought.

"Oh! How so, Souma-san?!" Yamada asked as black sparkles flew around her too. Takanashi only sighed, frustrated. Harumi only watched from a distance. _Long lost soul twin? What? That sounds terrible._ Harumi sighed but didn't say anything.

"Harumi is quiet, kind, strong, hard worker and patient. You can see how similar Satou-san and Takukega-san are, don't you Yamada-san?" Souma said but Yamada frowned.

"Yes she is like that but isn't Inami-san the same? They also have the same blood type, O," Yamada said. Souma pondered for a while and smiled.

"Takukega-san is straightforward and does not hesitate to ask or say honest comments. Satou's like that you know?" Souma said but Yamada interjected again.

"Takukega-san is born in April one, like Inami-san."

"Takukega-san is also a good listener, like Satou-san," Souma replied. Inami, Taneshima, Takanashi and Takukega watched the two argue on whom Harumi's long lost twin is. Taneshima thought, _Yamada-san and Souma-san knows a lot!_

On the other side, both Inami and Takanashi got scared that they knew so much information about Takukega and Satou. _They're really at it._ Takanashi thought as a bead of sweat slid down his temple. Harumi watched and her eyes narrowed deeper as Souma and Yamada pointed out her characteristics and personal information that were similar to Inami and Satou.

"Oi, what are you all doing here? We're swamped with customers, get back to work," Satou said as he entered the break room. His eyes stopped to a crack on a wall, "…what happened here?" He asked.

Takanashi sighed, noticing that almost all of them are here in the break room, fussing over the crack on the wall. It was expected since this time, it wasn't Inami who did it. "I'm guessing Inami-san did this," Satou said as he looked over at Inami. Takanashi sighed yet again.

"Souma-san said it was Takukega-san," When Takanashi said this, Satou looked over at Harumi. Harumi stared back at him.

"I did the damage and I am terribly sorry. I just lost my patience for _personal circumstances_," Harumi explained. Satou looked at Souma who was still debating with Yamada.

"…You're horrible Souma," Satou said. As he uttered those words, an imaginary arrow shot through Souma's heart. "Inami-san is-!" Yamada was about to continue but noticed that Souma's head was slowly turning at Satou's.

"That hurts Satou-kun," Souma said. Inami and Takanashi sweat dropped as they watched Satou and Souma. With a strained smile, Inami waved her hands in front of her.

"Calm down everyone, Takukega-san already apologized, so I think its fine," Inami said, doing her best to calm the situation. Takanashi sighed and thought, _it was really Takukega-san who did the damage on the wall…one more weirdo._

"Hey, what are you all doing here? Get back to work!" Kyoko said as she entered the break room, but when her eyes landed on the wall, she stood still. With mouth almost opening, Takanashi beat her to it.

"It's Takukega-san's fault." Takanashi said, yet again. Kyoko turned to look at Harumi, who still didn't move from her position. Harumi sighed.

"I'll fix it later, but now, we have customers to attend to," Harumi said. One by one, each of them got back to work, with Souma still affected and whining to Satou and Yamada pouting; sad that she wasn't able to continue the debate. Kyoko was the only one left in the break room and Yachiyo later came.

"This is indeed surprising," Yachiyo said as she touched the wall. Kyoko nodded, "For now, let's go." Yachiyo nodded and smiled. 

|| _12:03 PM_ ||

Harumi entered the break room and was about to go in the girl's dressing room until she heard…shrewd voices.

"Ah! It's too _tight_!" Inami's voice could be heard as Harumi listened outside, her mind having dirty thoughts. Souma hid and did his best to stop his snicker. "Ooh! Let's do this shall we?" An unknown voice said. Harumi had beads of sweat forming on her head and temple as one drop of it slid down her chin, falling to the ground.

Takanashi was about to enter the break room, but found Souma covering his mouth with his hand, doing his best not to laugh. Takanashi sweat dropped. _What is it this time?_ He thought and sighed for the millionth time. Ignoring Souma, he entered the break room, seeing Harumi all antsy and nervous, with a blush on her cheeks in front of the girl's dressing room. _That's rare._ Takanashi thought. Takanashi was about to ask when he heard a sudden voice coming from the dressing room, stopping him.

"Ah!" A high pitched sound escaped from Inami's voice as Harumi, not noticing Takanashi, listened to it. Harumi and Takanashi froze in their positions, with Takanashi having a dangerous glint on his glasses and a mild blush, and with Harumi, blushing thousand shades of red. Souma remained still on his position and this time, he used both of his hands to cover his mouth, preventing him from laughing out loud.

As the blonde and brunette froze, the dressing room opened, revealing Inami with a…frilly and cute outfit. She wore a hairband with pink frills and a butterfly design on it. She wore a choker with pink and white strips and frills on each end, connecting a fuchsia pink dress with white frills. It had its sleeves bounced up, and on Inami's waist was an apron with white and frilly ends. Harumi released the breath she held while Takanashi watched in astonishment.

"Inami-san?!" Takanashi exclaimed, seeing a high level cuteness coming from Inami, while Harumi flinched, not noticing Takanashi's presence _at all_. He blushed furiously as Harumi calmed herself down. Not being able to hold it longer, Souma finally laughed, earning a frightened flinch again from Harumi.

She sighed, and thought, _who was the other person in the dressing room though?_ As if to answer her question, a lady with a huge bust and flushed cheeks was seen to go outside the dressing room and with a huge smile on her face.

"Inami-chan is sooo cuteeee!" The unknown person said, with a drunken demeanor. Harumi was totally confused right up to the batter, questions adding up in her head, though not really showing it in front of them. She calmed herself and returned her stoic expression. A vein popped out in Takanashi's temple as she saw the person in question.

"Why are you here, Kozue-neesan?! And on top of that, why were you in the dressing room with Inami-san?!" Takanashi asked furiously. Kozue smiled happily, not even noticing Harumi who was watching in in complete silence.

"I'm testing new outfits for Inami-san! Isn't it wonderful?" Kozue said happily, grabbing Inami's shoulder, earning a yelp from her. Takanashi's eye brows narrowed dangerously. "**Get out.**" Takanashi said sternly. Kozue pouted childishly, releasing Inami and grabbing onto Takanashi's shoulder.

"Souta is so mean! Uwaaah!" Kozue wailed. Harumi remained still while Souma continued to laugh amidst the arguing siblings. Takanashi was about to grab Kozue but she suddenly grab ahold of him first, pinning him down. _I think I just got a deja vu._ Inami thought with a bead of sweat on her temple. Kozue perked up, when she saw Harumi while still pinning Takanashi down on the floor. Her mouth made a shape of 'O' when she saw Harumi.

"Ah! I haven't seen you working with my brother. Are you a new recruit?" Kozue asked casually. Harumi also had a bead of sweat on her temple, but nodded as an answer. Kozue had a questioning look, confused by Harumi's actions then later smiled.

"Oh my, aren't you the silent type?" Kozue asked, releasing Takanashi as she took a closer inspection on Harumi. Harumi leaned back a bit but did not complain. Kozue nodded happily.

"You have such a manly face while having a stoic face~!" Kozue cheered. Harumi froze instantly the moment she heard manly but paid no heed to it. Kozue launched herself to Harumi and hugged her tight, squealing in happiness as she did so. Harumi's face remained neutral.

"Kozue-neesan, you're clearly suffocating Takukega-san!" Takanashi yelled, staggering as he stood up. Inami remained quiet and thought, _I really can't help but feel guilty,_ with a bead of sweat on her temple. Harumi signed Takanashi to stop.

Takanashi stopped, confused as to why she stopped him from saving her from his sister. Harumi grabbed hold of Kozue's shoulders and pushed her gently, not really removing Kozue's arms around her neck but it helped her get a good look on Kozue's face with at least 10 cm distance. Kozue smiled.

"Do you want me to kiss you?!" Kozue bluntly said. Inami and Takanashi froze with mild blushes on their cheeks. Harumi however, sighed and thought, _I should be able to maintain this distance without someone affecting my position._

That's what she thinks but a certain purple-head; Yamada, got down in the attic, stumbling as she balanced herself but to no avail and pushed Kozue in the process and with that, she kissed Harumi…on the neck. A look of horror appeared on the faces the trio; Takanashi in shame, Inami in embarrassment and with Yamada, guilt. Souma stood behind the break room smiling at the scene.

Harumi froze, feeling Kozue's lips on her neck. Kozue squealed as she deepened her kiss on Harumi's neck. It sent shivers down Harumi's spine, as she barely kept her body composed, trying not to do any brutal damage to the woman. Yohei appeared out of nowhere and entered the break room.

"Hey everyone, what's with the commotion-" Yohei was about to continue but when he saw Kozue on Harumi, he froze and turned to run but to no avail.

"Yohei~!" Kozue squealed, releasing Harumi and ran towards Yohei, hugging him tight in the process. Their voices fade as Yohei does his best to run away from Kozue, with her hugging him tight in a piggy back ride. A moment of silence rang in the break room.

"I'm really sorry Takukega-san!" Yamada apologized, as she recovered from her astonishment, and bowed down in front of Harumi. Harumi sat down on the nearest chair, covered her face with her right palm and sighed deeply. Takanashi put up a strained smile on his face with a bead of sweat on his temple, _for some reason, she looks like Satou-san when doing that_, he thought.

"So…was that your older sister, Takanashi-san?" Harumi asked, totally ignoring Yamada on the spot. Takanashi froze as he realized what he did. _Crap! I totally forgot that Takukega-san was here and I didn't realize that I called Kozue-neesan!_ He thought as a look of horror spread onto his face for the second time.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Harumi said and she turned to look at Yamada, who froze and stood straight.

"Also, it's fine Yamada-san, just…please be careful next time," Harumi said and stood up. Inami stood still as Harumi looked in her direction and said, "I like how you look though." Inami couldn't grasp if Harumi was complimenting her since her expression didn't show a hint of sincerity. Both Yamada and Harumi got back to work, leaving Inami and Takanashi in the break room.

"Inami-san," Takanashi said turning in her direction, earning a flinch from her as he did so, "How did Kozue-neesan enter here?" Inami sighed and explained.

"She entered in the back door…and you know how things would go if it was her." Inami smiled. Takanashi blushed, thinking of how she was so cute when she smiled. Then he froze his jaw falling on the ground in the process, _here I go again! Ugh!_ He thought frustrated.

Takanashi observed Inami one more time and sighed, defeated. Inami blinked in confusion, wondering if there was something bothering Takanashi. Takanashi shook his head, debating if he was going to say it out loud. He sighed.

"T-though, I admit that…you uhh…look cute." Takanashi said, blushing as he did so. Inami however, froze and blushes twice as much the blush Takanashi gave off.

She fidgeted and put her head down, smiling happily under it. "Thank you." Inami quietly said, but didn't go unheard by Takanashi.

"Let's get back to work then." He smiled. Inami happily smiled back and replied.

"Yeah."

Well, if it wasn't for fun, there were two people outside who were watching through the window. Kozue smiled happily while Yohei only watched silently, bothered by the fact that they were invading their privacy. 

Meanwhile… 

When Harumi and Yamada got out of the break room, they saw Souma who was still laughing so hard. Harumi sighed while Yamada got in front of Souma, bended on her knees and poked Souma on the stomach.

"Souma-kun, you've been laughing so much, stop for a minute." Yamada said as she stood up again, waiting for Souma to stop. However he didn't, making Yamada pout. Yamada thought evilly and mentally smiled cruelly, _I'll have to use that again, since Harumi-chan's here! Ohohoho._ Harumi watched as she felt the dark aura around Yamada.

Yamada formed tears on her eyes as she rubbed it, "Souma-neesan is so mean, and he won't listen to me!" Yamada wailed as Harumi watched, dumbfounded by the fact that she called him her brother. They didn't even look alike, though they may have the same tendencies to get sadistic. Souma perked up and froze when Yamada sobbed. He turned to look at Harumi and saw her make the face saying _you-made-her-cry_, he formed a tiny tear on his right eye.

He could mentally see how Harumi looked at him with obvious disgust, but what happened next surprised him. Harumi gave a gentle chop on Yamada's head. Yamada perked up, mouth agape, surprised that Harumi gave her a sudden chop on the head, it didn't hurt though.

"Please refrain from acting. It's useless," Harumi turned to Souma, "Though I'm happy to know that even _you_ have a weakness. Well, _another_ one at that." Souma stared at Harumi, processing what he had heard. Then later on, his jaw fell on the floor, realizing that Harumi found his one and only weakness.

Harumi patted Yamada's hair soothingly and gave her thumbs up, with a small smile this time. Yamada smiled widely, happy and very comfortable under her soft and gentle pat, much better than Takanashi. Harumi was giving a silent message saying 'good job'.

"W-well, what do you mean by another one?" Souma asked, confused. He did only have one weakness right? If it was not by his mistake, he saw a sudden flash of sadness in Harumi's eyes, but it was quickly covered by a strong sense of bravery. Souma shrugged it off but it left him curious.

Harumi stared back at him, "You admit that you _really_ have a weakness?" She asked. Souma flinched and a bead of sweat appeared on his cheek. Now, this is really frustrating. Souma slowly stood up.

"Hmm~, I guess I have no choice, I'll just have to find a proper weakness from you," Souma said, grinning as he did so. Harumi stopped patting Yamada's head, leaving her sad while pouting. "Try, you won't find any…I think." Harumi said, unsure if she was supposed to tell him that.

"Ahaha, you are pretty bold. I like it. Then, a challenge is a challenge." Souma said with excitement. Yamada turned to look at Harumi, then at Souma, then at Harumi again. She was confused to what team she will join. For the first time, Harumi slyly smirked. Yamada and Souma's eyes widened, seeing a new expression from Harumi.

_Well, how_ _unsettling_. Souma thought. Yamada finally pumped her fists and ran to Harumi's side, surprising Souma.

"Since I want to know more about my big brother, I'll join Takukega-san's side." Yamada said, black sparkles appearing around her as she did so. Souma smiled with a bead of sweat on his cheek. _This will be a little bit troublesome_, Souma thought.

"Thank you, but this time, it will be on our own." Harumi said as she declined. Yamada pouted but nodded, understanding Harumi.

Then an idea popped into Souma's head. He smiled, _this will be fun_, he thought.

"Then how about I make Takanashi-kun accept his feelings for Inami-san, while you—" Souma was cut off as Harumi added his sentence, "Convince Inami-san to confess her feelings for Takanashi-san? Deal." Harumi said. Souma smiled.

"You get the topic pretty well." Souma said. Yamada pouted as she held onto Harumi's uniform.

"What about me? I can't just stand doing nothing." Yamada asked. Harumi and Souma thought for a while then said.

"Find out what happened between Todoroki-san/Yachiyo-san and Satou-san/-kun." Harumi and Souma said unison. They turned to look at each other, and Harumi shrugged it off, but Souma had one question.

"How did you know that Satou-kun invited Todoroki-san on a date?" He asked. Harumi turned to look at Yamada and said,

"Yamada-san told me about it." Harumi replied.

"Then, you also know about Inami and Takanashi's date last year?" Souma asked again.

"Taneshima-san told me about that, though, it was my own instinct that Inami-san has feelings for Takanashi-san." Harumi replied again.

"…You're sharp," Souma said, a bead of sweat forming on his temple. Harumi shrugged. Yamada smiled happily as she looks from Souma to Harumi.

"Then, does this mean I have a task?" Yamada asked. Harumi nodded while Souma said yes. Yamada rejoiced and then fist pumps in the air. As if on cue, Takanashi and Inami got out the break room with mild blushes on their faces. Souma and Yamada greeted them while Harumi pondered over on Inami's outfit.

"Are you working with that outfit?" Harumi asked. Inami froze as she realized this. She then apologized for her air-headed brain as she ran back into the girl's dressing room. Harumi only watched in silence while Souma approached Takanashi, putting his hand on Takanashi's shoulder.

_Time to be a man/woman, Takanashi-kun/Inami-san._

Both Souma and Harumi thought, determined. Yamada only rejoiced in the background…poor girl.

**Author's Note:**

**Well, this is a long chapter, I presume. Was the fluff good? It wasn't, was it? I did my best I swear! And also, at least 4 months passed since I've updated. Sorry about that, but here it is! Was it rushed? Yeah, I rushed a bit at the end, I hope you don't mind. By the way, if any people have requests, don't hesitate to ask me. I will gladly accept any requests as long as it doesn't affect the plot I have for this story. Haha, also, sorry for the half-assed ending, it just suddenly popped out in my mind. Anyways, my reply to all of the reviews! :D**

**To Kurome: Thank you, but you are right. My focus here is Souma and Harumi's relationship. Including the second main focus; Inami and Takanashi's pairing. Thank you for your review again Kurome, it is very much appreciated. :D**

**To bubblyshipper: Thank you so much. You don't know how much your review motivated me to write. Thank you for saying that I did a good job. I honestly wasn't that motivated at first but hey, thank you! I keep on saying thank you. XD**

**To Anonymous: Now, I've got a flame! Cool! :D Anyway, I just want to explain some details about this story I'm making. I get what you're trying to imply but Inami and Takanashi are **_**not yet**_** in a relationship here. It is simply a pairing, a second one at that. I also said in the last chapter that I will add Inami in the **_**third **_**chapter. This is the third chapter that I'm releasing since the first one was just a prologue. Say, the pairings are just **_**pairings**_**, still not in a relationship, soon I guess. ;) Anyway, I thank you for this review, I'm glad I made Harumi a likeable character (if that's what you were trying to imply). Thanks again. :D**

**To Kiacii: Thanks, **_**big sister**_**. (-.-) **

**Haha, anyway, I hope that you look forward the next chapter! I think it won't be long as much as this chapter, but hey, I'll do my best. Reviews are motivating and inspiring me, so give me as much as love and hate as you want! :D**

**See ya~!**

**R&amp;R**


	4. Sachiyo and the Deal: PART I

**Author's Note: **_**PLS READ A/N! **_

_Harumi's in college by the way, so please don't be confused. In Philippines, students transfer room to room depending on what subject they have next…but I think that all colleges in different countries are like this, I just don't know. So, I'll point out the lessons Harumi is taking up in this chapter. Lol. Oh by the way, if you are wondering where I got information about Souma, trust me, it's all made-up. It's for the sake of the plot. _

_Also, please assume that this is where the episode __**SPOILERS AHEAD: **__where Yachiyo and Satou finally…got together. You know, as lovers. Again, also assume that this is where Takanashi realized and accepted his feelings for Inami and as well as the part where Aoi reunites (well, not really) with her family._

_Also note that in Japan, texting requires their own __**addresses **__from their cell and, to call, they also require their __**phone number**__. I don't know why it's like that in Japan, but, yeah, I'll just go with that._

_Sorry for the looooong wait. School is a real b*tch. Hahaha. Anyway;_

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Working! or the characters in it. I only own my OCs and the plot line._**  
**

**Chapter III – #Sachiyo and the Deal…and wait, a birthday! PART I**

|| _January 12, 20**_ || _Monday_ || _9:00 AM_

Birds chirped as it flew outside Harumi's window, which was only beside her. She listened quietly while she wrote notes in math peacefully. The wind breezed and some papers from Harumi's desk flew away. Harumi was about to stand up but one of her classmates in English took the deed to pick up the fallen papers on the floor. Harumi looked at her classmate, named Hirakawa Ren. He had a pale skin and sharp blue eyes with dull black hair.

"Here," Ren said, putting the papers on her desk. Harumi nodded. Ren waved in return and was about to walk away but then he heard Harumi say, "Thank you." His body took a 90o turn to the left as he stared at Harumi with wide eyes.

"Did I go deaf for a moment?" Ren asked nobody particularly. Harumi made a small smile towards him than also made him blush madly. She smiled! He didn't know what to feel about this. The quietest girl in school _finally_ talked and smiled! _Smiled!_ This was just too bizarre. But…something wasn't right. Her smile seemed to be…sinister. Wasn't that a good sign? He debated whether he should ask her or not but…he decided not to. It might bring trouble.

Whilst Ren thinking that, Harumi was thinking of various ways to make Inami-san confess, though, what made her smile is thirst for victory to Souma. She was really not that evil when it came to other people's relationship, but it was for a deal, and she wanted to win this one.

|| _11:45 AM_ ||

The school's bell rang out loud as it gave the signal for lunch time in Harumi's school. She sighed as she fixed her notebook, pencils and eraser back in her bag. She took her bento out of her bag and sat comfortably in her desk.

As she was about to eat her bento, a sudden loud **bang** was heard. She sighed and ignored the loud bang coming (probably) from their door. She calmed herself down. Preparing her chopsticks, she was about to say 'itadakimasu', but she was stopped as a she received a sudden hug from behind.

She froze. Who could this person be? Acting all close to her? She casted a side glance behind her, and sighed, relieved that it was only her little brother.

"Harumi-nee-chan!" Hiroki whined, hugging her even more tightly. Harumi sighed and patted the hands that hugged her waist. She was embarrassed, though not really obvious in her expression; her classmates in Mathematics in the room were staring at her at the blunt display of affection between the two siblings.

This time, she gently took his hands of her waist and faced him, tilting her head, asking what's wrong. Hiroki pouted, "I forgot my project, and I don't have the keys for the entrance at home," Hiroki finished. Harumi sighed, contemplating if she should trust her brother or not. There had been one time when he lost the duplicated key for their entrance at home because she trusted him to keep it safe.

After quite some time, she finally decided it wouldn't hurt to give it to him. Besides, many of her classmates were staring at them, flabbergasted to see Harumi act like this for the first time, though some people minded their own business like Soum-

_Wait, what?_

Harumi's eyes widened as she observed _**him**_just outside their room, talking to someone. It was his usual face, smiling, and the person he was talking to was somehow fidgeting.

"Nee-san? What's wrong?" Hiroki asked as he observed her sister, with her eyes widened and a small gape at her mouth. He turned to see what she was looking at. At the door outside, there was no one he could see, except for students passing by here and there. He turned back to his big sister, who was calming herself down, then wore a disappointed expression.

She was excited, so to speak. She might have discovered where Souma's university is, and coincidentally, it was her university too. But all those feelings were washed away as single blink from her eyes, made the two disappear. But…she could always investigate later; besides, she had to make Inami confess first.

Something, or rather someone, tugged at her sleeves. She turned to look at Hiroki, who was questioning her with his emerald eyes like hers. She shook her head, silently saying it was nothing. Hiroki was curious but he didn't press on the topic.

Finally calming down from that rather abrupt event, she searched for the keys in her bag. After a while, she gave it to Hiroki. He smiled and said thanks. He stood up and waved at her, saying, "Goodbye nee-san! Thank you for the keys!"

"Don't lose it again," Harumi replied, smiling slightly, letting her guard down. She didn't realize the fact that she was at a room full of people, thus, letting her guard down. Hiroki beamed, still waving as her got out of her classroom.

Though the smile was faint, none of her classmates expected that. Harumi, the _quietest, reserved_, and the person who _**never spoke**_ to them, just did _**that**_.

.

..

…

_Is this the power of brotherly love?_

Harumi, having ignored her classmates' stares, continued on with her bento, not really caring for what was happening around her. She just hoped that she could focus both with Inami and Souma's situation at the same time, without getting distracted.

|| _3:24 PM_ ||

Harumi yawned as she entered the back door of the restaurant. She was a bit sleepy but she had to work, so, no choice. She entered the girl's changing room and started to undo her uniform. While she had done those, she, _again, _thought of several things that would make Inami-san confess her feelings to Takanashi-san. She didn't want to lose the first thing in a challenge, especially with Souma-san.

But…the memory of seeing Souma just a while ago still bothered her and she also wanted to press on that specific topic. Did she just discover where the -oh so secretive Souma - schooled? If so, then she might have been _really_ lucky. She heard from Takanashi that he was the most secretive, and the others agree, though Taneshima may look at it differently; thinking Souma is lonely, which is Yamada's fault too.

She heard a creak outside, guessing it was the door being opened by someone; though she didn't pay any attention to it. It may be just one of their employees, checking if the door to the break room was locked or not.

With one last final sigh, she exited out the girl's changing room, facing Souma who also just got out the Boy's changing room. They exchanged stares, a bead of sweat forming on Souma's temple.

This was _bad_. _I though she just got out the changing room?! Wasn't that creak coming from their door's changing room?!_ Souma thought, panicking.

He had to make some excuse, for he knew that Harumi saw him there, at _their_ university. Yes, _**their**_ university.

He wanted to keep his life a secret, and it wasn't going well since he hadn't expected Harumi see to him outside her classroom. Souma knew that they had the same university, and he had been avoiding her since. This time though, he was distracted because of the person he talked to earlier, which, he guessed, Harumi also saw. He immediately hid, just as she blinked and with her brother slowly casting a glance at where she was looking at.

It was a nerve-wracking situation, but…he contemplated whether which was even more nerve-wracking right now that they were having a staring contest. Sometimes, his guessing skills just weren't helping.

Harumi stared at Souma, suspiciously eyeing his hand that held the doorknob. He just got out of the Boy's Changing Room at the same time where she also got out. Now, wasn't that suspicious. Did this mean that, she, seeing Souma in her university, meant that he also went there? Students in their university had the same schedule of class dismissal, at 3:00 PM. She hadn't seen him, or run into him on the way to the restaurant though. But…just maybe, he may have hid, all the while avoiding her on the way.

Also, changing in their restaurant's chef uniform was kind of hard, considering that Harumi was kind of slow paced. Yes, she is slow paced, a reason why she wakes up so early. Harumi guessed that Souma would have known this kind of information, but she didn't really care. Right now, they just needed to start a conversation in the awkward aura surrounding them.

Well, if someone would be willing to start one. Both were too tense and they didn't want to get more upset than they already do.

"Wha—" Harumi and Souma both started, but stopped midway, as they realize that Harumi/Souma was going to talk. Both of them waited for each other to talk…

Certainly though, silence greeting you wasn't the best medicine to ease your worries realizing how thick and awkward the situation is. Harumi sighed, finally having enough of the silence. She turned around, and walked away like nothing happened. It was Harumi's solution whenever something awkward occurred. Though, she stopped halfway and turned around to face Souma, who flinched in return.

"I won't tell anyone."

Souma widened his eyes, surprised _–or terrified- _that Harumi said those words. He continued to watch Harumi as she walked away as if nothing happened. Harumi finally having disappeared from sight, he sighed deeply. The university he was going to was now exposed freely to Harumi, that, he was sure of. Harumi wasn't dense _and_ dumb. In fact, she was intelligent and analytical, which adds to his worries. He sighed yet again.

He was doomed, for sure…but can he trust the last sentence Harumi gave her?

He doesn't know.

Rubbing his temples, Souma sighed.

|| _4:04 PM_ ||

Harumi wanted to forget the awkward situation she had an hour ago _-though it will be etched in her mind that she goes to the __**same university**__ as Souma does-_ so here she was, confronting Inami. Inami just arrived earlier, and Harumi took this as a chance to make her move. As Inami was done with changing her clothes, she got out of the changing room and found Harumi taking a break…she supposed. Harumi immediately turned to look at Inami, who seemed to flinch at the sudden stare Harumi gave her. Did she do something? Inami thought.

"Inami-san, I have something to talk about with you. Could you spare me some of your time?" Harumi asked politely, though it might not seem to be the case as Inami felt cold sweat on her temple. Inami glanced at Harumi's eyes and it was written that _if-you-don't-talk-to-me-I-swear-I'm-not-going-to-spare-you-alive._ It was rare _–rather, her first time- _seeing such hostile emotion in Harumi's eyes. Inami nodded, afraid of what was awaiting her.

Harumi stared at Harumi, not aware of the message of her eyes she gave to Inami. Inami slowly took one of the chairs and sat down on it.

"W-what is it that you wanted to talk about, Takukega-san?" Inami asked, feeling herself slowly calming down. Harumi turned her head left and right, checking if someone was near, if so, she needed to find a place to talk with her with no one around. Yes…this is how Harumi values bets and gambling. Confirming there wasn't anyone near; she turned to look at Inami, who seemed curious but afraid at the same time of the sudden confrontation Harumi gave her.

"Everyone must see this! IT'S URGENT!"

Both Inami and Harumi fell down their chairs at the sudden shout of the familiar purple headed girl. Inami hastily got up and went to Harumi to help her up. Harumi took Inami's hand and turned to look at Aoi, who was swinging her hands up and down, as if panicking. Inami also turned to look.

"What's wrong Aoi-san?" Inami questioned. Harumi nodded, also wondering. Aoi pouted, "Just come with me!" With that, both girls were pulled by Aoi's hands wrapping around their wrists. They arrived at the storage room door, wherein all of the Wagnaria Crew peeking inside. Harumi and Inami both had beads of sweat on their temple. Aoi gave a sign with her hand for them to join in the crowd outside the door. Harumi shrugged while Inami just submitted to the demanding girl.

Harumi was tall, so it was a bit easy to see what was going on inside the storage room. As she looked at the scene, her mind processed until her mind snapped and she blushed (mentally). Yachiyo and Satou were hugging each other! What happened when she wasn't here? This was so sudden…but Harumi felt that this was for the better. Yachiyo and Satou deserved it. Harumi smiled slightly. She heard that Satou was friend-zoned for quite some time-_years_\- because of their manager whom Yachiyo always talked about to Satou. Harumi commended him for that patience he had…plus, Souma also worked with Satou quite some time with them, and that would be frustrating since Souma was…a handful to deal with.

She thought that it was weird to see them as good friends; witnessing some beating up sessions going on with the two boys, and it often happened, since Harumi was there as a witness. She chuckled mentally; amused by the bickering between them, even though it was on a friendlier approach (for her).

She wasn't sure how Yachiyo and Satou's relationship would progress but she was sure it would greatly improve in time.

|| _5:06 PM_ ||

After the sweet scene between Yachiyo and Satou, the whole crew returned to work (except for Aoi and Kyoko). The newly formed couple was happy but embarrassed that all of them witnessed their private moment. All of them were spared from Satou's beating, but Souma and Aoi didn't, since both of them were teasing the two too much.

Harumi silently cut the vegetables clean, passing it to Souma who was also working, which was surprising since he makes the others work for him, instead of doing it himself. There can be times wherein he was nice and willing to help, but Harumi begged to differ, since his sadistic personality won't fade away.

"Are you done with the deal we made?" Souma asked, as he cooked the food in the pan. Satou was also cooking, but it was a different dish. Harumi shook her head. Souma hummed, pretty happy about…something. Harumi dreaded what he was happy about. _She had noticed the changes._ Satou silently listened to the two interact, he wondered what was going on between the two, it's not like he was dense, he noticed that they talked a lot more and…Harumi was giving Souma the looks of suspiciousness more often than before. He was sure that Souma did something.

"I already made Takanashi-san accept his feelings."

***THUD***

The sound of the knife that straightly went through the potato.

Harumi cut down the huge potato quickly in half, immediately after hearing what Souma said. Souma flinched, seeing the approaching beast mode Harumi had. Satou was also shocked, but not as aggressively as Harumi. What was going on between these two? He sighed and only continued working; he wasn't letting these two ruin his day after…the surprising development he and Yachiyo had.

Harumi was right, _something _happened, and it wasn't good. She noticed the changes in Takanashi's behavior towards Inami and she wasn't pleased by it. She was _pleased_ that he had accepted his feelings, but in their situation right now, just no. Takanashi was approaching Inami more and more and was giving more clues that he had a deep affection towards Inami. Harumi wanted to finish their deal first but she was stupid enough not to think that Souma had the upper hand in their deal since he was doing this for a couple of months; meaning, he was already convincing Takanashi before Harumi even came to Wagnaria. Oh how _stupid_ of her.

Souma observed Harumi; bangs were covering her eyes and it made a shadow on her face. Harumi sighed, clearly defeated by the fact that he had done this in one day. She faced Souma, who turned off the stove and also turned to look at her.

"Congr-" Harumi's greeting was stopped as she saw the smug look on Souma's face, with black sparkles, to add to her dismay. She stared at him for a little while, but she sighed and returned back to her work, and continued chopping the potato, which had a very clean cut in half. What did she expect; Souma being terrified because he won and she's disappointed? Please, why did she forget that he's a sadist? He enjoyed her disappointment and utter defeat in their deal. Wait…

It is a deal, so there must be something more to it than she thought.

Beads of sweat formed in Harumi's temple. This was bad. Little by little, she was losing her patience in dealing with Souma.

"Aww, Takukega-san, please continue on what you were about to say a while ago. I would appreciate it!" Souma said, smiling satisfyingly, enjoying his torment on Harumi. She remained poker face, but Souma knew better than that. Then, an idea popped into Harumi's mind.

Harumi smirked and said, "Forgive me, but I think it's unfair for my part to make Inami confess while you just made Takanashi-san realize and accept his feelings. _And_, you had the upper hand since Takanashi was here even before I had arrived and started working here in Wagnaria." It struck a lightning in Souma. However, an evil though slipped into his mind.

"But it _was a deal_. And we both agreed onto it, with Yamada-san witnessing it. Although I may have the upper hand, you were…_dense_ enough to not realize this before, but only _now_." Souma smiled smugly again, leaving Harumi in silence as she realized that she just added fuel to the fire. Harumi sighed.

"Fine, what do you want?" Harumi asked, Souma returning to work with her. Souma pondered over it a bit. The he chuckled, causing Harumi to tense up. Whatever on his mind right now was not a good idea, Harumi guessed…and if someone were to interrupt them right now - even with the interruption that happened with Inami and her a while ago in the break room, Harumi would go 'kind of' berserk on that poor person - but this time, in Souma's case, if someone would interrupt, she would be eternally grateful for this person for letting her escape from Souma's tricky and evil schemes.

"I'll save it for now, it might be useful in the future, we never know," Souma smiled as (again) black sparkles flew around him. Harumi sighed audibly, completely understanding why Souma put his deal on hold; it would be useful for him in _blackmail_. It wasn't the weakest point Harumi had, but Souma still got his way, and it annoyed Harumi but it amused her too at the same time. It was a weird feeling, but how the hell was she amused by this kind of thing? She had no idea…or maybe she just had a little bit of a sadistic side and one, **ONE**, percent of being a masochist. She wanted to punch herself several times realizing this last year, but months passed by, and she just didn't care anymore. It was stressful.

"Fine," Harumi finally said, slowly calming herself down. Satou cleared his throat, gaining their attention.

"I wanted to ask something. When did this deal start?" Satou wasn't one to pry on someone's business, but he guessed it wouldn't hurt to know what was going on between the two. Satou continued on cooking the veggies. Harumi and Souma stared at each other, contemplating whether to tell him or not. Souma only shrugged. Harumi sighed back at him.

"It started yesterday, I was agitated to do the deal, but it's nowhere near only his fault, it's also mine too; for being stupid enough to accept the challenge," Harumi sighed as she finished talking.

Souma chortled; amused by the fact that Harumi admitted that she was stupid enough to accept a deal that she did not have any advantage over Souma. Satou blankly stared the duo, surprised by Harumi's bluntness and Souma's reaction. He wasn't sure if he would call this a healthy relationship between two co-workers. Satou sighed and just continued to his work.

"I can't believe you Takukega-san. You-you're too funny!" Souma said as he continued to laugh. Harumi stared at Souma with soulless eyes. Suddenly, Harumi took a ladle and took a stance. She hit Souma at his head; he flinched at the contact, it was a really strong hit that he felt nauseous for a moment.

Satou stared; surprised that Harumi finally took a shine on how annoying Souma was. He was also a bit amazed at how Harumi handled her patience well on Souma; he didn't last that long with Souma.

Harumi harrumphed and went back to her work. It seems that her patience snapped at Souma. Souma lay lifelessly on the floor with his back leaning on the counter. Satou sighed and also went back to his work, he was way too distracted by twos' interaction earlier and he needed to get back to work.

"Harumi-san, can I ask- EH?! Souma-san?!" Taneshima screamed as she saw Souma on the floor, with clouds over his head. Harumi, however, took no heed to her surprise and only tilted her head to ask what Taneshima wanted. Taneshima hesitated whether she should ignore Souma (since she was used to Satou beating him up, not that she knew Harumi did this one though), or to answer Harumi. She gulped and took the latter.

"U-umm, I wanted to ask you a favor," Taneshima said while approaching Souma, giving a hand to help him stand up, she couldn't bear to leave him like that. Harumi's left eye twitched as she saw Taneshima helping the devil. She could see that, Taneshima was too nice for her own good. Harumi sighed and muttered ", Go on."

Souma's surrounding sparkled and accepted Taneshima's help willingly, standing up carefully. "Thank you, Taneshima-san." Taneshima nodded in return to his thanks and turned around to face Harumi, who already stopped working.

"I see you are on your break now, Harumi-san! I wanted to have you buy something for me. I know it's weird to ask you something so suddenly but I really need it tomorrow! It's far from my break too! Can you help me?" Taneshima pleaded as she faced Harumi. Harumi nodded, mesmerized by her puppy eyes. Taneshima beamed.

"Thank you! Can you buy these things I listed on the paper? I'll give you the money. Here!" Taneshima said, as she gave Harumi the paper and her wallet. Harumi pondered on how Taneshima trusted her so easily with her belongings.Why? Why could Taneshima trust her so easily? 

*****_**We trust you ok?**_

_***We're counting on you.  
**_**  
=====**

It was silent for a moment before Harumi responded.

"_How can you trust me so easily Taneshima-san?_" Harumi point blank pointed it out. This surprised Taneshima, Souma and Satou in the kitchen. It wasn't that they were surprised she talked, but the way she implied it, sounded so…vulnerable. Although Taneshima was surprised by this, she only smiled later on. 

*****_**WE TRUSTED YOU!**_

_***This is your entire fault!**_

_***Why Harumi…?**_

_***I can't believe you did this to us…**_

_***GO DIE IN A DITCH!**_

_***Sorry, I don't like people like you.  
**_****

  
"It's because I think you're a nice person, despite your rare tantrums! Hehe." Taneshima happily admitted and beamed, surprising Harumi, enough to widen her eyes.

**=====  
**_**  
**_*****_**I still believe in you, Harumi.  
**_**  
=====**

Harumi ducked her head down suddenly. A light blush was evident on her cheeks.

"Ok…I'll do it," Harumi looked straight ahead at Taneshima and smiled warmly. Souma and Satou stared, surprised in seeing Harumi smile sincerely. Satou was out of his reverie, but he looked to Souma and saw him still staring at Harumi's face. Without much of a surprise for Satou, Souma took his camera and took a picture of the girls. Satou sighed, was Souma going to change or will he stay like an idiot for the rest of his life? He sighed; he didn't know the answer to that. A few moments later, Taneshima beamed and hugged Harumi.

"Thank you so much Harumi-san! And look, you're smiling! I don't know why, but you look so pretty!" Taneshima beamed again. Harumi mildly blushed with her smile slowly fading away.

"Uhh, thanks I guess." Harumi embarrassedly said and awkwardly hugged Taneshima back. Satou sighed, going back to his work. Souma remained unmoving and continued to look at the two girls, or rather the tall girl. He really wasn't expecting Harumi to smile like that, but then he shrugged it off and smiled himself. She was changing slowly; he guessed it was mostly thanks to Taneshima. He went back to work later on.

He really was looking forward to Harumi's bipolar status. He chuckled as he took a look at the picture he got. Ohohoho~, this was going to be an epic blackmail for her.

**A/N: **_And on that note, this will be the part one! Sorry for the really long wait! Part two will be uploaded soon! Please look forward to it! I got the feeling with the previous chapters that I didn't put too much expressive thoughts on how the characters felt, and I think that some may get confused with how I portrayed Harumi here. Anyway, the next chapter will be as long as this one! And thank you so much for the reviews, I am going to reply on the next chapter. I am pretty excited about the next chapter, I hope you are too! I am so hyped up with the reviews and critics that you gave me that I had to upload two chapters in one week! Again, look forward to the next chapter, I will be replying to your reviews there! A question, should I continue with the expressive streak on the characters? Oh, and tell me too if they are getting OOC and if I made any mistakes! I did my best here, I hope it isn't too cringe-y, I put a lot of thought into this. XD I'll explain more in the next chapter._

_Ok, see you guys in the next chappie! Byeeeee~!_


	5. Anonymous Nicknames & a Birthday: Part 2

**Chapter IV – Anonymous, Nicknames and a Birthday! PART II**

|| Mall ||

Harumi walked pass through the aisles, with Inami trailing behind her. Inami was requested by Harumi to go with her earlier and she agreed, since she was also in her break. Inami wondered what Harumi had to buy; she could see that Harumi was having a hard time.

"Do you need any help, Takukega-san?" Inami inquired, a bit afraid. Harumi turned around to look at Inami, who was fidgeting, a bit unsettled by the guys around her. Now, Harumi was guilty, she didn't request Harumi, she forced her, in a way that she was possible through girls. But she also wondered why Inami was so _desperate_ in not going with her. Harumi sighed and ripped the paper she held in two and gave the other part to Inami.

"I would like you to find these items, if you're willing." Harumi said. Inami nodded and took the paper from Harumi. Inami's eyes widened.

"These are a lot…what are they all for?" Inami asked, with Harumi sighing in return.

"Those are the list of items Taneshima-san wanted me to buy, some of the items there are of my choice." Harumi replied, continuing in her search.

"What's the big occasion?" Inami asked. This time, it was Harumi's turn to widen her eyes.

"Are you not informed of Takanashi-san's birthday tomorrow?" Inami froze in place, seemingly shocked at the news. It was Takanashi's birthday tomorrow! She knew his birthday was at January thirteen but she didn't keep track on time; today was twelve?! She slowly trembled in place, with Harumi watching. Harumi thought for a while and through this, she thought of _a brilliant idea._

"Inami-san," Harumi called out…but it didn't seem to have an effect on her; she was still processing the fact that his birthday was tomorrow. Harumi called out again, but it still didn't work. With no way to call her out, she thought of doing her last resort.

"Souta," This snapped Inami out of her trembling state and looked around to see if there was anyone or rather, who called his first name out of the blue.

"Finally I caught your attention," Harumi muttered, but was audible to hear for Inami. Inami lowered her head, muttering an apology.

"First of all, do you have a gift prepared for Takanashi-san?" Harumi asked, Inami frowned and shook her head. Harumi made a look at Inami, sighing, before proceeding to stand in front of her.

"I will help you look for one." Harumi said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Inami's vision on Harumi sparkled and she shed drops of tears. Harumi flinched, she wasn't expecting that. Why was she tearing up?

"Are you ok, Inami-san?" Harumi asked the worry in her voice quite obvious. Inami nodded.

"Thank you Takukega-san," Inami smiled at Harumi. Harumi sighed.

"So, let me get straight to the point-" Harumi's phone buzzed in her bag. She sighed and took a look at it to see; who's the annoying person that dared to interrupt her important discussion with Inami. Inami tilted her head, confused, but she let Harumi check the message.

**Sender:** _(5*-*7*-*9*)_  
**To:** _Takoharu-san_

_Having fun making Inami-san tear up? I didn't know you were this sketchy to get what you want Harumi-chan. :3_

_Anonymous_

A vein popped up in Harumi's temple. She didn't know that Souma would go this far to make her snap and torture him more (later) in their workplace. She sighed and turned to Inami.

"Do you mind if I ask who the sender is?" Inami asked, curious, but also afraid at the same time. It didn't look like Harumi was angry, but she could see that she was annoyed at the sender.

"It's someone you don't need to take heed of knowing." Harumi replied. Inami sweat dropped, she didn't know who it was but she could take a guess. If it was someone that annoyed her so easily, then it would have to be Souma. Inami awkwardly smiled at Harumi and muttered an 'Ok' to Harumi.

"Anyway, can you wait for me in the food court? I need to talk with someone for a bit." Harumi asked while typing in her phone.

"Of course, I'll wait there then. Take your time." Inami smiled, but deep inside, she was afraid to encounter boys and accidentally punch them. She could control it, yes, but she was far from being safe of punching other men. Harumi stared at Inami at she fidgeted in place.

"Actually, can I wait in the restroom? It might not be safe for me…to roam around." Inami requested, quite shyly. Harumi looked at Inami, quite suspicious of why she would want to wait there. She sighed and nodded in confirmation.

"Then you go there, I'll be here in the usual spot." Harumi replied, with Inami internally grateful for Harumi's consideration. Inami nodded happily and went ahead.

"Thank you Harumi-san!" Inami's voice trailed away as she got farther away. Harumi took one last look at Inami's disappearing figure. For a while, she processed that Inami just called her by her first name; wasn't that reassuring? She wasn't sure, but for now, she had to talk with this guy.

**Sender:** _Takoharu-san_  
**To:** _Bakaroomi-san_

_You're the one whose sketchy, where the heck did you get my phone number? I didn't know that you were that interested in me Hiroomi-chan. (-_-)_

_PS. You're annoying._

Souma snickered as he read the message; though he was quite offended by the nickname Harumi gave to him and he was quite bewildered when his first name was attached to "chan", now that was the one that is offensive. He replied immediately.

**Sender:** _Bakaroomi-san_

**To:** _Takoharu-san_

_Awwww, what's with the nickname? And when I thought I gave you a cute one. Btw, can you remove the chan in my first name? It's quite…disturbing, I say. Or else I will continue to call you Harumi-chan until you retire from work. :D Actually, don't call me Hiroomi; I don't really do well with other people calling me by my first name._

Harumi furrowed her eye brows; how ironic was it to call him by his first name when he was the one who started it in the first place? Harumi sighed, but this time, she dialed his number and called it; and where she got his phone number, will be discovered _sometime_ soon. Or never.

Souma widened his eyes; he didn't give his number to Harumi-san. He made sure that his address was the only one that he gave. He snickered, maybe she had her ways. It was amusing to say. He answered the call.

"_Hello Harumi-chan~, can I ask how you got my phone number?_" Souma replied, quite amused by Harumi.

Harumi's eye brows twitched.

"_I can ask the same question for you Hiroomi-kun_." Harumi replied, calmly as much as she could.

"_Heeeh~ "Hiroomi-kun?". I thank you for considering my request, but that doesn't stop me from calling you Harumi-chan._" Harumi could feel that Souma was smirking on the other side of the phone and it was tempting her to throw her phone away to ease her irritation.

"_Well then, Hiroomi-kun, I also won't stop. It is quite amusing to call your name like this._" Harumi smirked in triumph as she heard a small choke on the other side of the phone.

"_Since when did the two of us have a close relationship?_" Souma asked, they weren't close, but he guessed that it was because he provoked it. He heard Harumi sigh.

"_Don't even suggest that Hiroomi-kun, it'd be a disaster if that happened_." Harumi inquired. Souma snickered.

"_Do you want to, Harumi-chan~?_" Souma's suggestive voice made veins pop up on Harumi's temple, and after a moment of thinking it through, she decided that it was a waste of time to talk to this guy. Why did she even call him in the first place? At least, she got a small weak point from him; he hated to be called by his first name by someone who's not that close to him. Or actually, by anyone, but that would be impossible; his parents had to call him by his first name. After a bit of thorough thinking, she decided to play Souma's game.

"_Where to start then, Hiroomi-kun?_" After Harumi uttered these words, she could hear Souma choking loudly on the other side of the phone. She started to chuckle lightly, happy that she was able to set him off. Souma on the other hand, was more surprised than scared now. Where was the pissed off Harumi? Did she have a few loose screws? Wait, not her, maybe him-no! Not him. Ugh, Harumi had really set him off so bad. Well, he wasn't going to get played by Harumi; he would make sure of it. He's unknowingly amused and excited with this, his smirk and black sparkles explains it all.

"_Perhaps a lovely date would be enough?_" Souma asked flirtatiously. Harumi's face flushed a deep shade of red, not believing what Souma replied to her. He was slowly toying with her, but, Harumi refused to give up. Gulping and calming herself down, she relaxed her stiff shoulders. No, she had to think this carefully, last time he played with her, she was defeated horribly. The last thing she wants is him having another blackmail to give to her-wait. Speaking of blackmails…

Harumi's face turned blue, realizing that she didn't think of the fact that he might have _recorded_ their whole conversation in the cell. Harumi face palmed; it was going to be hard to keep her composure when he makes everyone hear it.

"_You know what? I give up. Last thing I want to happen is us __**literally**__ going on a date_." Harumi shivered as she thought of the idea. Souma chuckled in response, and he happily replied.

"_Awwww, just when we were going to the best part. You really are a kill joy Harumi-chan._" Harumi deadpanned as she sighed at the thought.

"_I am a born kill joy, as what they told me. You don't need to make me hear that all the time._" Harumi sighed. She massaged her temples while waiting for Souma to reply.

"_I know, you were called the 'Queen Kill Joy' in your high school life when you were younger and Oooh! You got the longest record of talking to me Harumi-chan! No one could tolerate me longer than you did when I __**teased**__ them on the phone, they would last for thirty seconds and you lasted for one minute. Haha._" Souma happily said, with Harumi paling on the other side of the cell. He _did _record their conversation and he knew of her past. What could this man _not know_? Without waiting for a reply, Harumi ended the call, and went to the rest room, where she found Inami fidgeting in front of a mirror. Harumi typed quickly in her cell and sent a message to Bakaroomi.

Souma smiled sadly at his phone but shrugged nonetheless. He got her this time. He stopped walking when his phone vibrated in his hand.

**Sender:** _Takoharu-san_  
**To:** _Bakaroomi-san_

_I would like to congratulate you for successfully recording our conversation. Even so, I've wasted so much time with you. Also, just to let you know, good luck with blackmailing me through that record. You're also wasting your time with that. And, who cares if I was Queen Kill Joy? To be honest, I kind of liked the nickname. Don't judge._

Souma's eye brows widened, Harumi was sharp. He smirked and replied quickly. He had to go back to work now, his break was now over and he guessed that Takanashi would scold him badly for being late; if he could, Souma thought. He laughed cheerfully and went on ahead back to the restaurant.

**Sender:** _Bakaroomi-san  
_**To:** _Takoharu-san_

_Well, I knew you would find out, but not this soon. I was looking forward to surprising you tomorrow! Anyway, see you soon Harumi-chan, I hope I get to tease you again. :3_

Inami saw Harumi on the mirror and turned around to face her. Inami saw Harumi read her cell quickly before turning her attention from her cell to Inami.

"T-Takukega-san! Sorry, um, I wanted to say sorry if I offended you in any way earlier." Inami said, all the while looking down at her shoes. Harumi tilted her head, asking what's wrong.

"Well, I called you by your first name." Inami said, quite embarrassed. Harumi blinked, and smiled a little, but careful not to show Inami. She patted Inami's left shoulder, making Inami look directly at Harumi's emerald eyes.

"It's fine. I didn't mind earlier." Harumi said, her face relaxed, seeming to forget her horrible experience with Souma earlier. Inami blinked in surprise, her face contorting into a bright aura, her smile shining. Harumi stared at Inami; she was stunning when she smiled like that. Harumi took her cell and took a _picture_ of Inami's smiling face. She doesn't want to admit, but Souma was rubbing off on her, she could use this to _bribe _Takanashi.

…What? No one said that she was a completely nice person; she had her guilty pleasures, and this was one of them.

"Thanks Takukega-san." Inami said at last, her face still retaining the joy and relief-ness she felt when Harumi said it was okay. She had a few confrontations with her and none of them were this nice. She could almost tear up. Harumi coughed a few times to get Inami's attention, as much as she wanted to see Inami smile like this often, she wanted to get to business right now; this was going to make Inami and Takanashi happy like idiots tomorrow.

"Inami-san, I know that you like Takanashi-san." Harumi said, not having the idea how to start their conversation a little less blunt, but Harumi didn't know how to be not too forward with these confrontations, but nonetheless, she had to do this. Inami flushed from head to her toes, and steam came out from her ears as she desperately tried to calm herself down.

"H-h-h-how do you know, Takukega-san?!" Inami asked, clearly not calm about the situation and making it plain obvious that she loves or like Takanashi. Inami was shocked, it had only been two weeks since Harumi had worked in their restaurant; their first meeting was _yesterday_ and she had known already?! She was sharper than Yamada!

"Okay, calm down. I won't bite you just because I know you have feelings for that guy. Take a deep breath." Harumi instructed; kind of worried for Inami. Had she been too blunt? She sighed. Inami took heed in her instructions and took a deep breath. Harumi watched as Inami inhaled and exhaled, all the while rubbing her back to soothe her. After a moment of shock, Inami awkwardly smiled at Harumi. Inami wanted to kill herself for being so vulnerable around Harumi; they weren't that close and she was already acting like this in front of her, and to know that Harumi already knew of her love towards Takanashi? This was so embarrassing!

"I-I'm sorry Takukega-san, I'm calm now. What is it about me l-loving Takanashi-kun?" Harumi's left eye glinted, and Inami flinched in return.

"I think you have to confess to him tomorrow."

Silence reigned in the bathroom as Inami processed what Harumi just told her to do tomorrow. What…tomorrow? Wait, what was it about tomorrow again…? Oh, Takanashi-kun's birthday…and **confess**_confess__**confess**_confess-

It was obvious how Inami couldn't function properly anymore at this point; the steam coming out from her ears were very convincing. Harumi sighed as she shook her head in disappointment, she couldn't get Inami to confess after all.

|| Inami's Street ||

After buying all of the things they needed from the market, Inami and Harumi walked back to the restaurant. Harumi glanced often at Inami, who was still fidgeting and thinking about what Harumi had suggested earlier. Harumi kind of knew what Inami was thinking. Harumi sighed once again as she regretted forcing the poor girl to confess tomorrow to Takanashi-san.

"Um, I'm sorry that I'm kind of forcing you to confess tomorrow… Just think about it Inami-san." Harumi said as she scratched her left temple. She was kind of being forceful-_actually_-why did she even agree with Souma's game? Harumi sighed as she realized how stupid she was. Well, she did realize it earlier but now that she thought more of it, she was really retarded into thinking she could win against-

"A-ah, it's alright Takukega-san, I just need more time. Thank you for suggesting it though." Inami smiled. Ah, Harumi wondered within her thoughts again. She glanced at Inami. She was sweating and fidgeting. Inami sighed. What can she do? She only bought a leather wallet. It was kind of a last minute decision. She hoped he would like it.

"It's alright if you don't manage to confess to him by tomorrow. Or else, just be yourself while talking to him." Takukega reassured Inami, whose eyes sparkled.

"T-thank you very much Takukega-san…! I really appreciate it; just be myself. Okay!" Inami beamed once again. Harumi was wondering how much she could last with Inami's blinding smiles- it was too much. _It was too cute and pure._

Harumi nodded in acknowledgement. Inami happily trudged along with Harumi, when suddenly, a question popped in her head.

"Ah, speaking of which Takukega-san, what are you planning to give to Takanashi-kun?" Inami asked. Harumi pondered whether she should tell her or not. It was better for it to be a surprise.

Harumi shrugged in response in the end. Inami laughed, uncomfortable with the indifference of Harumi towards the gift. _Why do I feel the need to know what it is…it's not like she is a bad person or anything- right?_ Inami laughed once again to ease her thoughts. She mustn't jump to conclusions.

|| Wagnaria Restaurant ||

"We're back." Inami announced as they entered the back door of the shop. Immediately, Yamada pops up out of nowhere.

"Yamada is here to ask questions! Takukega-san would you like to seat with me?" Yamada said as she eagerly stared at Harumi, who was getting uncomfortable, but inspired nonetheless. Wait what; _inspired_\- when the heck did she-

"Sorry Aoi-chan, but I have to go to work immediately, would it be alright for us to have this after work? After all, you still visit occasionally here, right?" That would be the longest sentence she'd ever uttered in the presence of two people but whatever. Yamada and Inami blinked in surprise as they finished listening to Harumi. That was one long sentence. Both of them thought.

"Oh, okay! Please hurry up Takukega-san!" Yamada grinned as she went away for work; or not. Harumi turned to Inami.

"Thank you for accompanying me Inami-san." Harumi smiled a little, but it was gone before Inami could even see it. Inami blinked in surprise once again.

"It was no problem. Thank you for reminding me too." Inami smiled back.

"Let's go change now; they must be wondering what took us so long." Harumi said as she put all the things she bought from the market. Inami nodded and also put the things she bought on the table.

Inami was so thankful that Harumi wasn't that scary. Her first impression of Harumi was not quite pretty, seeing as she destroyed a wall, not a fatal one like hers but still; it wasn't the best timing to meet her. Now, she just needed to prepare Takanashi's gift for tomorrow.

Harumi, on the other hand was in her thoughts while changing. Normally, when she was at her previous part-times or at school, she was always passive and rarely talked. Now, that she was here at Wagnaria, everyone here seemed to have a knack for making her talk like nothing. She would find herself replying without worry. She grimaced, maybe it also had to do with their weirdness; she was already influenced. Well, it's not like she had something against them but still, they were all interesting people: especially that annoying pest; Souma.

Once she thought of the dreaded name, she immediately shuddered in disgust. Although he was annoying_, dangerous_ and concerning, she had fun during their spat at the phone a while ago. She thought, maybe he wasn't that bad. Besides, she didn't have that long time to fully register their characters. Also, she just talked when she was asked about something. Harumi thought, when at school or her previous part time jobs, everyone was ignoring her for some reason, so maybe it backfired and she ignored them instead. Gah, it was so weird thinking about these things, Harumi concluded. She just had to see it for herself whether this restaurants' workers would make a big impact on her or not.

Annoyingly so, Harumi thought they already had.

**Author's Note:**

…

**I have no excuses; except for my bitchy school, awful family problems, my health condition, and most of all; my laziness. Sorry for making others wait for a **_**long time**_**, and by that I mean **_**long**_**, just for this update to happen. But I thank the viewers and readers that read this and left a comment for my story even though it was quite a long time since I have updated. I intended for this chapter to be long and precise so I could satisfy you guys, but it seems I have no ideas what to put for now, and I don't want to give a miserable update, so here for now. I will do my best to update regularly; once a week I guess, but don't expect for the chapters to be long. It is going to be short, but I guarantee you that I will make it satisfying. Anyways, for my deepest replies to my awesome reviewers:**

**Kurome Akira: Thank you so so so so so so so much for being loyal to my story. And yes! It had been more than two months so I am very sorry for making you wait for this long. I appreciate the thought of pointing out the mistakes I make. I appreciate your efforts and I love you so much for continuing the support. Labyu much dear.**

**Random Review: Thanks for pointing out my mistake in Yamada. And I'm really sorry that you also had to wait for almost one year for this upload; I swear I will one day murder myself. Haha. Thank you again.**

**Riouchi: Thank you for thinking that my OC is odd (and I intend for her to be that way), and yes, I also don't like stories that suddenly make the character go jelly once they see the girl. I love how detailed your review is. I'm sorry if you also had to wait for many, **_**many**_** months for this update to happen. I hope you will still seek out updates from me, haha.**

**Humi x anime: Heya there! Oh my gosh, I'm so glad someone finds my opinion the same too! Thank you for the support Humi! **

**Loki-Roki: *cries* I love you so much- Thank you for being patient. And I appreciate how you find this story entertaining. Once you get to read this again, I hope you will like this update.**

**And that's all for now. I won't make any promises, but I guarantee that I will update; just short ones. Sorry about that. Anyway, look forward to the next chapter! I love ya'all! ^_^**


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